Terrific answers everyone. It turns out that idea #2 is going to take some research before I can really write it so I'm doing that from time to time while writing idea #1. I do love idea #1 too and anticipate finishing it first. Thanks for all of the input - great stuff.

I've written two chapters of a first draft of a novel. I've done a good bit of research and I like the direction for which I see it going. However, I just came up with an idea for a novel today that I think is fantastic. Of course, everything is shiny at the initial stage as I've done no research or...

Holy Crap Sanderling - You just made me realize why I hate my plot for my book so much. Thank you thank you thank you. Glorious. Best advice for me is two-fold. First, I am not Jonathan Franzen or John Stenibeck or anyone of that ilk and I never will be. I may love to read them but I am not them. Th...

I am currently shopping a book while writing a second (aren't we all?). I know, or I think I know, the general plan. Get an agent. Pitch the book. Sign. There are, however, other paths to publication that are often referenced but I feel rarely fleshed out. What if I wanted to shop my book to smaller...

Wow. Lots of fantastic advice in here from flipping cliches to execution to librarians. I feel much more confident now that my MS #2 can have some original pieces if I do it right. And I hope MS #1 sells before I'm done with it. Pleasepleaseplease.

Well, let me ask you this polymath. If you're writing a mystery/thriller, how much does it matter who did it? I feel like every imaginable culprit has been used from the person themselves to a secret society protecting a religious secret.... Isn't it really more about how you get there?

How do you verify that your idea is somewhat original? I know that pretty much every idea/theme has been tried before (or at least you can assume that) but is there any way to find out if there's any major books/authors out there that has the same general idea?

Dani Strider’s deepest desire is to belong, but the blood in her veins won't allow it. She bears a legacy kept secret form her, and with it comes powerful magic she can’t control. I like the blood reference. It's powerful. This line works if specifics follow. On her eighteenth birthday, strangers e...

This continues to evolve. Thanks for your help and continued feedback. I've incorporated some suggestions form hillsy, glj and Joel in this latest version. Please let me know what you think. Tim Manning has no soul. Or at least that’s what the latest popular computer application says. Saddled alread...

The best way to make your query have personality, in my opinion, is to interject something that only pertains to that agent. Read their blogs, follow them on twitter or just google them, and you'll likely find something that you can use to show that you've done your homework and they are more than j...

Gentlemen only, ladies forbidden? Beatrice Roland won’t take that kind of crap, especially from that chauvinistic boy, Leighton Ross, who believes she should step off the golf course for good and put on a bikini instead. Like the opening! Good voice. I'd probably tighten and take out the words "for...

Hi hillsy - Here are my comments. Please consider for representation my science fiction novel, OF SHADOWS AND ANGELS, where Layne, a military trainee, is framed as a traitor and must find proof of his innocence deep within enemy territory. I don't think this is needed. You can get this information t...

Thank you so much for your constructive feedback Joel, falls apart and Quill. I have updated my query. Please let me know what you think of this version. Tim Manning has no soul. Or at least that’s what the latest popular computer application says. Saddled already with a debilitating heart problem, ...